Written during a seventy-year period, from 1768 to 1839, Frances Burney's letters and journals provide a unique insight into her life and times. Distinguished by their remarkable range and variety, they record Burney's experience of English court life and later, in France, the final stages of the Napoleonic Wars. From the self-centered and irreverent writings of a precocious young girl to the more sober reflections of a mature woman, this collection demonstrates Burney's marvelous ability to capture the changing times around her and create brilliantly candid portraits of those she encountered during the course of her eventful life.

This edition includes an informative introduction, as well as a chronology, selected reading list, index, and full contextual annotations. The versions of the texts in this collection are based on the manuscripts or printed sources that Burney herself approved.